The New
Heavens and New Earth. Revelation 21:1-4
In chapter 21 we shift
indicated by the first words in verse 1 NASB “Then I saw a new
heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and
there is no longer {any} sea.” As an overview to this chapter there is the
introduction in verse 1 to this next period. The focus in on
a period of a new heaven and a new earth. In verse 2 John focuses on the
new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven. Verse 3
shifts to the tabernacle, the new dwelling of God within the new heavens and
the earth, and in verse 9 there is a more detailed look at the new Jerusalem, and this takes us all the way down to the end
of the chapter. This is followed by another shift at the beginning of chapter
22.
As we look at chapter 21 and
try to come to an understanding of what is going on here we have to address
different things and then pull some things together from the Old Testament. The
first key phrase that we see here at the beginning is, “Then I saw.” The
question we need to ask is: what kind of a break does this indicate? As John
writes he is given a series of visions. It is just like he is looking through a
photo album, looking from one picture to another; and each time he moves from
one picture to another he indicates that by this phrase “Then I saw”—used about
34 or 35 times in the book of Revelation. It doesn’t mean that each scene that
he sees necessarily follows chronologically after the previous scene. Sometimes
the scenes shift to different vantage points but they may or may not be
chronologically related. Sometimes it is introducing material that happened at
the same time as the previous chapter. The way most of us have been taught is
that chapter 21 goes into the period when God totally recreates the present
heavens and earth. However, there are some that think chapter 21 (some are
dispensationalists) isn’t talking about a newly created heavens and earth but
is another look at the events that took place in the previous chapter—and John
is not unknown for doing that; he will give an overview in one chapter then in
the next chapter he comes back and looks at the same time frame as the previous
chapter but looking at different aspects of that same time period. Furthermore,
in other passages the phrase “new heavens and new earth” is used not to
describe a future recreation of the planet and the universe but to the
Millennial kingdom. (This was J.N. Darby’s view)
In chapter 21 we are
introduced to this phrase, “a new heaven and a new earth,” but this is not the
first time this phrase is used; and normally in any decent system of
interpretation, whenever you see a phrase or a term, if there is a precedent
for that term and it is used in some earlier place, then you have to go back to
those earlier uses to see how it is used and how it is defined in those earlier
contexts. The first place that we find this phrase is in Isaiah 65:17 NASB
“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And
the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.” We need to look at
the context. Context is always critical for defining terms and understanding
phrases to make sure we have a good understanding. To begin to summarize Isaiah
65 what we find in the first 16 verses is an indictment of
Then there is a shift in
verse 8 to how God blessed them and that there was always a blessing for a
remnant within the nation, and that God would not judge all of them or destroy
all of them, and there is a promise of a future blessing in verses 8-10—at the
end of verse 10, “For My people who seek Me.” These were those who went against
the tide of idolatry in the nation, those who sought to be faithful to the law,
faithful to God, and there was blessing for them. But then verse 11 returns to
the indictment and states: “But you who forsake the LORD, Who forget
My holy mountain, Who set a table for Fortune, And who
fill {cups} with mixed wine for Destiny, [12] I will destine you for the sword
[judgment], And all of you will bow down to the slaughter. Because I called,
but you did not answer; I spoke, but you did not hear. And you did evil in My sight And chose that in which I did not delight.”
In verse 16 He reminds them
again: “Because he who is blessed in the earth Will be blessed by the God of
truth; And he who swears in the earth Will swear by
the God of truth; Because the former troubles are forgotten, And because they
are hidden from My sight!” This leads right to the verse we are looking at,
verse 17, the prediction that even though in the past there has been rebellion
and judgment God as a God of grace will not reject His people forever, but
there will be a restoration of the nation and God will bless them and establish
the Messianic kingdom He has promised throughout the Old Testament. NASB
“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth…” So the chronology here is
that there is the judgment, the salvation of the remnant, and then there is the
creation of the new heaven and the new earth. It appears from the time flow
that this isn’t talking about the future eternal state but about the Millennial kingdom.
There are some other verses
that indicate that as well. Isaiah 65:19 NASB “I will also rejoice
in
But there are some other
problems. Isaiah 65:20 NASB “No longer will there be in it an infant
{who lives but a few} days, Or an old man who does not live out his days; For
the youth will die at the age of one hundred And the one who does not reach the
age of one hundred Will be {thought} accursed.” So there is birth taking place
during this period. That’s not the eternal state, it
has to be the Millennial kingdom. There is also going to be death during the
new heaven and the new earth of Isaiah 65. Then the last verse, 25, “The wolf
and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and
dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the LORD. So if the serpent is still
eating dust then the curse is still in effect, but as we will see in Revelation
22 the curse gets rolled back in the eternal state. So this is using the phrase
“new heaven and new earth” for the period of the Messianic kingdom, not the
recreated heavens and earth or the future eternal state.
The next time we see the
phrase used is in Isaiah chapter sixty-six which continues to talk about this
same time period. Isaiah 66:1 NASB “Thus says the LORD, ‘Heaven is
My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is
a house you could build for Me? And where is a place
that I may rest?’” The first three verses assert the authority of God and again
He indicts the people, he indicts the people
Isaiah 66:7 the focus is seen
on the labor and birth motif. NASB
“Before she travailed, she brought forth; Before her
pain came, she gave birth to a boy.” This motif of labor pains is one that was
used to describe the day of the Lord—like a woman in labor giving birth to the
kingdom. [8] “Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land
be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as
The prophets of the Old
Testament would look down through history and not always see that there were
various time lapses between events. They would be viewed as all happening at
the same time without realizing that hundreds of years may separate certain
events. Isaiah 61:1, 2 was quoted by Jesus when He read the Scripture passage
in the Capernaeum synagogue in Luke 4:17-21. He was
supposed to read down through verse 4 but He stopped at the beginning of verse
2. Isaiah 61:1 NASB “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
Isaiah 65 and 66 are using
“new heaven and new earth” not as in tight a technical way as Revelation 21
does. What we see is that Isaiah is pulling elements of both the Millennial kingdom and the future new heaven and new earth
together in his description. The circumstances of the Millennial
kingdom are going to be very similar to the eternal state. The Millennial kingdom
is just phase one at the end of which there is the great white throne judgment
and then the recreation of the new heavens and the new earth because the
present heavens and earth have been s marred and distorted from the judgments
related to sin upon the creation that there needs to be a recreation of the
heavens and the earth.
Psalm 102:25, 26 NASB
“Of old You founded the earth, And the heavens are the
work of Your hands.
Romans chapter eight is a
key passage for understanding this because in that section we understand how
the creation, nature itself, is under judgment because of man’s rebellion
against God from the garden of Eden. Romans
Acts 3:21 NASB
“whom heaven must receive until {the} period of restoration of all things about
which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.” This
“restoration” is only talking about the kingdom, not the period after the
Messianic kingdom. Matthew
Other passages do indicate
a complete destruction of the present heavens and earth. Psalm 102:25, 26 NASB
“Of old You founded the earth, And the heavens are the
work of Your hands.
2 Peter 3;7 NASB “But by His word the present heavens and
earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction
of ungodly men.” The judgment of the ungodly occurs at the end of the Millennial kingdom. It is the great white throne judgment.
[10] “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will
pass away with a roar and the elements
will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned
up.” The day of the Lord is a surprise to those who are going to be judged
in the day of the Lord; it is not surprise to believers who understand what is
going on. The day of the Lord can refer in a narrow sense to the events
surrounding the seven-year Tribulation period, but it has a broader sense in
which is covers the period from just after the Rapture through the whole
Tribulation period, and then also to the end of the Messianic kingdom.
Therefore [11] Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what
sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
One of the better arguments
that Revelation 21 speaks of a brand new heavens and new earth is that at the
end of verse 1 it says that there will no longer be a sea. The term there for “sea”
indicates a salt sea, not fresh water. The seas will be gone, there will be
less water and more land. So this is a major distinction between the present
earth and the future recreated earth of Revelation 21:1. The salt seas are also
indicative in Scripture of the presence of judgment and turbulence—death is
expected, it is uncontrollable by man—and it is a place indicating that the
present earth is a place of chaos. And this is one of seven evils that John
says in chapters 21 & 22 will no longer exist in the new heavens and the
new earth. He says death, mourning, weeping and pain (21:4) will have passed
away, the curse is no longer present (22:3), and night will no longer exist (
In Revelation chapter 20
when we see the description of the great white throne judgment we are told (20:11)
NASB “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from
whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.”
This, again, indicates the removal of the present heavens and earth and the
creation of the new heavens and new earth in 21:1. So the old heavens and the
old earth will pass away. There are all kinds of people who believe in the
literal nature of Revelation 21: that God is going to create a new heavens and
new earth. How long is it going to take Him? They all think He is going to do
that instantly. Ah, but when we go back to Genesis chapter one He has to do it
in millions or billions of years! There is just a disconnect
there. If God can create the new heavens and the new earth instantly why couldn’t
he have created the present heavens and earth instantly? God is omnipotent. So
there is the creation of the new heavens and the new earth, there is no more
salt sea in the new heavens and the new earth, and so it appears that there is
a radical difference between the two. Also there is a temple on the earth but
there is no temple in the new Jerusalem. Revelation
What will be at the
theological center and the center of importance is going to be the new Jerusalem. Just as the old earth had to be destroyed the
old
In Revelation 22 we are
introduced to this
In the Old Testament there
were a number of references to a heavenly temple. Moses and David were shown
heavenly archetypes for both the tabernacle and the temple, according to Exodus
25:9, 40; 1 Chronicles 28:11, 19. David was given a blueprint by God for
constructing the temple. Many times in the Psalms David spoke of God in His
heavenly temple. Psalm 11:4 NASB “The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD’S throne is
in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.” [23:6] “Surely
goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the
days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” Also Psalm 26:8; 27:4; 138:2.
To fulfill the Old
Testament promises that God had made about
There is a book found
amongst the Dead Sea scrolls that is entitled “The New Jerusalem,” and that is
also preserved in a number of other scrolls. In that particular scroll it is
very similar in its description of the new Jerusalem
and the temple there to Ezekiel’s vision. It sees the New Jerusalem as having
twelve gates, each one named for the twelve tribes of
In the New Testament there
are the passages in Hebrews 11, but also in Galatians 4:26 NASB “But
the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother.” So there is this recognition
that there is this heavenly city of
Remember at the beginning
of Revelation there is the initial vision that John has on